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Tomska used to have a video mentioning this (though in the context of making YouTube videos), in which he demonstated that video from a iPhone camera in conjunc

Tomska used to have a video mentioning this (though in the context of making YouTube videos), in which he demonstated that video from a iPhone camera in conjunction with a professional mic was much more watchable than video from a professional camera with an iPhone mic. Sadly the video seems to have been removed, the only reference I could find was the last paragraph of this Wired Article, https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tomska-wired-2015 https://www.wired.co.uk/article/tomska-wired-2015. "use any camera, but get a good microphone. 'I started with a camera that's probably about ten times worse than the one in my phone,' he said. 'Bad sound will make anyone close a video in three seconds flat. Get a good microphone before you get a good camera.'"

criddell 5y ago
Is there some way on the iPhone / iPad to shoot video with a Bluetooth mic? I bought a BT lapel mic and whenever it was connected to the phone, it showed up as headphones and audio wouldn't play from the phone until I disconnected it. If Bluetooth is the wrong technology, what would you recommend?
- jtbayly 5y ago
  Bluetooth is wrong because it is almost always low quality. You need a wired mic.
  - criddell 5y ago
    Is the audio quality recorded from a Bluetooth microphone worse than audio played through Bluetooth headphones? (ie is recording worse than playback?) If not, then that's okay because Bluetooth headphones sound fine. A wired mic isn't really an option in the environment I want to film in but I want something better than the on-camera mic because I'm occasionally pretty far away from the camera. I also don't want the hassle of recording audio on a separate audio recorder and then mixing that into my video. I want decent audio from a wireless mic recorded onto the phone video. I didn't think that was a big ask...
    - viraptor 5y ago
      > is recording worse than playback? Yes / kind of. Bluetooth headphones can be in a few modes, but generally they're either "high quality playback" or "crap playback with crap input". As soon as you activate the mic, the playback quality will drop. But for the isolated playback of a recording, you'll get better quality.
    - numpad0 5y ago
      Worse, far worse, just forget Bluetooth.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - hctaw 5y ago
      Using a separate recorder here has the best price to performance for you, I think. Sennheiser has several wireless systems designed for your needs: https://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-systems https://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-systems
      - criddell 5y ago
        The hassle factor is way too high and it doesn't work easily for live streaming from a phone.
        hctaw 5y ago
        I think your fundamental issue might be expecting a phone to be a decent multimedia capture device (phones == content consumption, not content creation). If it's an iPhone and you just care about speech, air pods will be hard to beat.
        criddell 5y ago
        The Rode product that somebody else mentioned looks like it's worth a try. It's a wireless mic where the receiver plugs into the phone.
- bserge 5y ago
  I believe Bluetooth is still worse than even analog 2.4Ghz transceivers due to compression. Perhaps it's good enough for a lapel mic if it uses aptX or whatever there is now, but uncompressed audio (preferably through a balanced connection) would be best.
  - criddell 5y ago
    I'm not looking for the best audio, just better than the on-camera microphone without introducing more gear or post-processing steps.
    - bserge 5y ago
      Well, it should suffice. Not sure how the iPhone works, can you at least record while it's connected?
- geerlingguy 5y ago
  IMO the best current solution for wireless audio of decent quality is a Rode Wireless Go. The original version (that I use) requires a receiver and analog adapter cable to get it into the phone, but especially paired with an external lav mic (not required, but helpful if you don't want a square mic visible in a shot), it's better than my ancient and much larger UHF wireless mics.
bserge 5y ago
And that was in 2015, wow. Nowadays a high end smartphone's camera delivers results close to a dedicated camera, assuming good lighting and stock lens. The difference is pretty much unnoticeable if you watch it on a smartphone, tablet or any small screen. If you're just starting out with video, it makes little sense to invest in a dedicated camera. Audio, on the other hand, a couple hundred dollars on a good mic and preamp/recorder will be worth it 100%. It will make a noticeable difference on both good speakers/headphones and on the small speakers in phones.

criddell 5y ago

Is there some way on the iPhone / iPad to shoot video with a Bluetooth mic? I bought a BT lapel mic and whenever it was connected to the phone, it showed up as headphones and audio wouldn't play from the phone until I disconnected it. If Bluetooth is the wrong technology, what would you recommend?

jtbayly 5y ago
Bluetooth is wrong because it is almost always low quality. You need a wired mic.
- criddell 5y ago
  Is the audio quality recorded from a Bluetooth microphone worse than audio played through Bluetooth headphones? (ie is recording worse than playback?) If not, then that's okay because Bluetooth headphones sound fine. A wired mic isn't really an option in the environment I want to film in but I want something better than the on-camera mic because I'm occasionally pretty far away from the camera. I also don't want the hassle of recording audio on a separate audio recorder and then mixing that into my video. I want decent audio from a wireless mic recorded onto the phone video. I didn't think that was a big ask...
  - viraptor 5y ago
    > is recording worse than playback? Yes / kind of. Bluetooth headphones can be in a few modes, but generally they're either "high quality playback" or "crap playback with crap input". As soon as you activate the mic, the playback quality will drop. But for the isolated playback of a recording, you'll get better quality.
  - numpad0 5y ago
    Worse, far worse, just forget Bluetooth.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - hctaw 5y ago
    Using a separate recorder here has the best price to performance for you, I think. Sennheiser has several wireless systems designed for your needs: https://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-systems https://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-systems
    - criddell 5y ago
      The hassle factor is way too high and it doesn't work easily for live streaming from a phone.
      - hctaw 5y ago
        I think your fundamental issue might be expecting a phone to be a decent multimedia capture device (phones == content consumption, not content creation). If it's an iPhone and you just care about speech, air pods will be hard to beat.
        criddell 5y ago
        The Rode product that somebody else mentioned looks like it's worth a try. It's a wireless mic where the receiver plugs into the phone.
bserge 5y ago
I believe Bluetooth is still worse than even analog 2.4Ghz transceivers due to compression. Perhaps it's good enough for a lapel mic if it uses aptX or whatever there is now, but uncompressed audio (preferably through a balanced connection) would be best.
- criddell 5y ago
  I'm not looking for the best audio, just better than the on-camera microphone without introducing more gear or post-processing steps.
  - bserge 5y ago
    Well, it should suffice. Not sure how the iPhone works, can you at least record while it's connected?
geerlingguy 5y ago
IMO the best current solution for wireless audio of decent quality is a Rode Wireless Go. The original version (that I use) requires a receiver and analog adapter cable to get it into the phone, but especially paired with an external lav mic (not required, but helpful if you don't want a square mic visible in a shot), it's better than my ancient and much larger UHF wireless mics.

bserge 5y ago

And that was in 2015, wow. Nowadays a high end smartphone's camera delivers results close to a dedicated camera, assuming good lighting and stock lens. The difference is pretty much unnoticeable if you watch it on a smartphone, tablet or any small screen. If you're just starting out with video, it makes little sense to invest in a dedicated camera. Audio, on the other hand, a couple hundred dollars on a good mic and preamp/recorder will be worth it 100%. It will make a noticeable difference on both good speakers/headphones and on the small speakers in phones.